A measure looking to preempt local ordinances regulating vacation rentals cleared its first hurdle today in the Florida Legislature. The Senate Community Affairs Committee passed the bill by a vote of 4-2.

A bill opening the door to allow survivors of the infamous Dozier School for Boys to be later compensated unanimously passed its first committee Monday. That’s the now-closed North Florida reform school where former wards say they were physically and sexually abused decades ago.

State higher education officials directed Florida's public universities to hire more mental health counselors to meet growing student demand — and asked a Florida Atlantic University administrator to help them keep track of the progress.

A House health-care panel on Monday approved a bill that would clear a path for increasing the number of trauma centers in the state’s biggest cities and changing rules that allow hospitals to challenge the designation of new trauma centers.

For many parents, no stone is left unturned when preparing to have a child. There are books, classes, and blogs to prepare both mother and father for almost anything. But, there is an often overlooked condition mothers may have once their child is born, and a bill in the Florida Senate looks to shed some light on this.

A Florida judge has ruled that a lawsuit against the state’s decision to ban smokable forms of medical marijuana can proceed but without one of the key parties.

Leon County Judge Karen Gievers ruled on Friday that three patients suing the state can proceed because their claims that the ban impacts them are sufficient. Gievers dismissed the motion by People United for Medical Marijuana, which is the committee formed by Orlando attorney John Morgan, because it lacks sufficient grounds. The organization has 10 days to file an amended lawsuit.

"Many of these molecules smell quite pleasant," says biologist Jeff Riffell at the University of Washington. "They smell grassy or a little bit like mushrooms. Some human scents are the same ones found in flowers."

Other chemicals — well — they aren't so nice. "They're pretty funky," Riffell says, like an overripe Brie cheese or a musty basement.

Florida lawmakers want more people to be able to report drug or alcohol overdoses without fear of retaliation. The effort comes after the high-profile death of a college student, and as the state’s opioid-related deaths continue to rise.

The Florida House and Senate have started moving forward with measures that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on the grounds of churches and other religious institutions that include schools.

There is a card in Joost Sajet’s wallet that looks like any other health insurance card—plan name, policyholder, group number, a hotline number for providers—but what Sajet presents to his doctors is not normal insurance.

The Florida House wants to target $50 million toward opioid treatment and prevention in the upcoming year and spend about $1 million on a statewide prescription-drug database, the top House health-care budget writer said Tuesday.